blight

blight
/ blīt/
•
n.
a plant disease, esp. one caused by fungi such as mildews, rusts, and smuts:
the vines suffered blight and disease. ∎ inf.
anything that causes a plant disease or interferes with the healthy growth of a plant.
∎ [in sing.]
a thing that spoils or damages something:
her remorse could be a blight on that happiness. ∎
an ugly, neglected, or rundown condition of an urban area:
the depressing urban blight that lies to the south of the city.•
v. [tr.] (usu. be blighted)
infect (plants or a planted area) with blight:
a peach tree blighted by leaf curl. ∎
spoil, harm, or destroy:
the scandal blighted the careers of several leading politicians
[as adj.] (blighted)
his father's blighted ambitions. ∎ [usu. as adj.] (blighted)
subject (an urban area) to neglect:
plans to establish enterprise zones in blighted areas.

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blight

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.

Copyright The Columbia University Press

blight, general term for any sudden and severe plant disease or for the agent that causes it. The term is now applied chiefly to diseases caused by bacteria (e.g., bean blights and fire blight of fruit trees), viruses (e.g., soybean bud blight), fungi (e.g., chestnut blight), and protists (e.g., potato blight). Other plant afflictions (caused by insects or unfavorable climatic conditions) that display similar symptoms are also called blights. See diseases of plants.

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blight

blight Yellowing, browning, and withering of plant tissues caused by various diseases; alternatively, the diseases themselves. Blights may be caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, or by environmental factors such as drought. Common blights induced by microorganisms include fire, bean, late, and potato blight. They typically affect leaves more severely than other parts.

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